Linebeck and the Sea
by Father Hulk
Summary: Linebeck and Link are stranded due to engine failure, and a sudden conflict will force Linebeck to face his fears and get over his past.


**Linebeck And The Sea**

_A_ Phantom Hourglass_ story by Father Hulk_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Zelda or anything pertaining to it. Such rights belong exclusively to Nintendo._

Linebeck Carter appeared on the deck of his ship, wiping engine grease from his hands. Tossing the rag to the ground when he was satisfied, he took a moment to gaze fondly out at the sea beyond the harbor of Bannan Island. He and his traveling companion, Link, had stopped by to visit the wayfarer, Lucas O'Donnel while passing through the northwestern ocean.

Linebeck was 42 and appeared wind- and world-worn, but nevertheless exhibited constant vitality while he sailed the sea in search of new ways to quietly make off with riches. The appearance of Link at Mercay Island was the answer to his dreams: he sought the wealth of the Ghost Ship, and Link was agile, powerful, and filled with determination. Linebeck, of course, planned to keep all the treasure for himself. The kid could keep his rupees; the Ghost Ship was rumored to hold much greater treasures than mere currency.

It would be fine, he thought smugly. All the kid cared about was saving his precious friend. He probably wouldn't care about the treasure. He's probably the type of person you could take all possessions from time and time again, and he'd be perfectly content, so long as he could do right by his friends and loved ones.

Suddenly, a sound filled the air that made Linebeck roll his eyes: it was like the ringing of faint bells, growing constantly louder.

"We're back!" squeaked a cheerful, feminine voice, and Ciela the fairy whizzed up onto the deck and circled around Linebeck's head. "And you'll never guess what we got!"

'_Some payment for the man who is so generously ferrying you around?'_ Linebeck thought to himself, but aloud he said, "Well? What is it?"

Link hopped up onto the deck and produced a large fishing rod, waving it around with a laugh.

"Hmmm! Great, kid!" Linebeck said, "Now we'll be able to catch our own food once in a while."

"The wayfarer said that he'd reward us for catching a really big fish," Ciela said. "We should work on that at some point!"

"Sure, sure," Linebeck said, looking off to the side, eyes closed. "But I say it's high time to find our next spirit, don't you? Let's ship out!"

Link nodded and took his place at the wheel, and Linebeck headed down to fire up the engine. With a splash of surf and a cry of its horn, the_S. S. Linebeck_ pulled away from the dock and out to sea.

Late that afternoon, Link sat on the rail of the ship, mind lost in his thoughts, half-listening to Ciela chattering away about his head.

"…and since we have no more sea charts, I think the spirit of Courage has to be either somewhere near home, or we may have to go back to that awful temple. Oh, I hate that place!" The seeming ball of light with wings flitted here and there, talking more to herself now than to Link. "I'm sure there's so much about that temple that we don't know. I saw traps and switches that we couldn't get to. Oh, how I wonder what they do! I'm sure we'll find out eventually, right Link? Link? Are you listening?"

Suddenly, the ship gave a horrible lurch, a loud bang was heard from belowdecks before the ship ground to a slow halt.

Ciela was immediately active, flying in rapid circles. "What happened? We've stopped!" She hovered over near the stairs. "Linebeck? Linebeck are you okay?"

Linebeck emerged quite slowly, covered from head to foot in grease and soot, and he was shaking quite rapidly. "Engine… problem… big engine problem…"

"My goodness!" Ciela cried, "Look at you! Thank goodness you're not hurt!"

"I… I'm fine," Linebeck muttered with a cough, "But… my baby… my baby!" He fell to the deck and spread his arms, as if hugging his ship.

Link peered down the staircase and smelled smoke and oil.

"Can we fix it?" Ciela asked worriedly. "We ARE kind of out in the middle of nowhere here."

Linebeck rose and dusted himself off a bit. "I'll have to take apart the entire engine and fix it. It's do-able but we'll be here for a day or two."

Ciela bobbed about adamantly. "But that's no good! Who knows where the Ghost Ship could get to by then! Tetra is still in danger!"

Linebeck glowered and grabbed Ciela's wing. "Do you think I asked for this, Sparkles? Do you think I want my ship to suffer? Think of how nice I'm being to you both! I don't _have_ to take you around the entire ocean like this! So give me the time I need and let me fix my baby!"

Ciela fell silent and flew back towards Link, and Linebeck stalked towards the engine room, before smirking and turning around, saying "Better get that sword ready, kid. The cannon won't work if the engine's out."

Link's eyes widened as he uttered a sound of surprise.

Night fell, and Link sat on the edge of the ship, looking out towards the full moon, thinking of Tetra. Ciela drifted aimlessly about, stopping occasionally to listen to the sound of wrenching iron and clanging of metal coming from down below. Sometimes she wondered if Linebeck wasn't just banging on the engine with a large wrench.

Finally, the sound of a tool being thrown hard to the floor was heard, and Linebeck emerged on deck, wiping his brow. "That's enough for tonight," he groaned. "I love engines, but in moderation."

"You should rest," Ciela said understandingly. "You've been down there for hours."

"Well, when you love something as much as I love my ship, you tend to lose track of time."

_'He seems to be in a better mood,'_ Ciela observed thankfully. The last thing Link needed at this time was for Linebeck to be crabby. Sure that there would be no conflicts for a while, she flew off to stretch her wings.

"Hey kid," Linebeck said as he kicked off his shoes, "Why don't you drop that new line of yours and see if you can catch us some dinner?"

Looking up, Link nodded and removed the fishing rod from his bag. Standing up, he leaned back and then performed a huge cast, the hook flying several dozen feet out into the dark waters.

Linebeck stretched and sat down next to Link, who had also plopped back down, holding the fishing rod.

"We should be out of here by this time tomorrow," Linebeck said.

Link nodded, saying nothing. Several minutes of silence passed, with captain and warrior gazing out to the moon.

Finally, Linebeck said, "You really want to find your friend, don't you?"

Link looked up and nodded.

A small smile drifted across Linebeck's face. "You love her… don't you?"

Link sighed and looked back out to sea.

Linebeck chuckled and followed suit. "I have nobody to love." When Link gave him a questioning look, Linebeck continued, "My mother died when I was small. I lived with my father until I was ten…. Until that day…" Linebeck suddenly seemed to be glowering again. "This damn sea…"

Link looked up suddenly, sounding surprised. Catching it, Linebeck murmured "You'd think a ship's captain like me would love the sea… but my allegiance does not lie with her, it lies with my ship. Do you understand?"

Link nodded, but still seemed puzzled.

"This sea took my father from me…" Linebeck snarled softly, suddenly filled with quiet rage. The fire filled his eyes for several moments, but then he exhaled, the anger flowing from him, leaving him simply despondent.

"I was ten and out at sea with my father," Linebeck said, beginning to tell the story despite not being asked. "It was a night much like this… then out of nowhere, a storm came and shook his ship. I was terrified, but he was very brave. He scrambled about the ship, trying to brace it against the wind and the rain…" He paused, observing the sparkling of the moon on the water, "And I couldn't do anything. I just huddled next to the bridge, praying not to die. That's when the wave came."

He sighed again, looking down. "He was no match. He disappeared beneath the waves, and it was only by divine protection that I was able to stay alive till a break in the squall… I was able to guide the ship to a nearby island, and just as I leapt onto the dock, the ship's engine burst and sank it. I had vowed never again to return to the sea, and spent the next several years working odd jobs to get by."

Link listened intently, not interrupting, vastly curious to learn more.

"When I was sixteen I got a job at a port, and it filled me with the desire to sail again. So I spent the next two years building this ship… she is my legacy. I'm not afraid of the ocean anymore, but I've never gotten over what happened that night."

Having finished, silence reigned again for a few minutes, until Linebeck suddenly laughed. "Ha! Listen to me, getting all pensive! Not something you expected from me, huh, kid?" He stood up, stretching. "Doesn't look like anything is going to bite. We should try to get some sleep."

But Link shook his head and continued to gaze out to sea, so Linebeck shrugged and went downstairs to find someplace to lie.

Just then, Ciela flew back to the ship and circled around Link's head. "I couldn't find any other ships anywhere around here that could help us, Link. We'd better hope that Linebeck can fix that engine soon! Where is he, by the way?"

Link pointed towards the stairs.

"Sleeping? Good idea! I'm going to go rest, Link. Call if you need me."

Receiving a nod from Link, Ciela flitted down the stairs.

Hours passed, and Link soon fell asleep on the deck, the fishing rod propped up between gaps in the ship's rail, its line still out in the water. Link was sleeping so deeply that he didn't hear the pole start to bend. He didn't see the disturbance in the water, getting larger and closer, until it was almost upon the ship. He didn't even see the tentacle that reached up and grabbed him until it was too late.

A scream jarred Linebeck from his light sleep, and he was alert at once, looking about frantically. Ciela was already on top of things and had gone above to see what was wrong. She immediately came back, flying around in alarm.

"Link's been captured!" She screamed. "There's a huge sea monster that has him! And it's getting away!"

Not saying a word, Linebeck bolted up onto the deck and was aghast: a huge, purple, scaly octopus was holding Link above its head, turning him over time and time again with its tentacles.

"Link!" Ciela cried. "Link!" She immediately made a beeline for her friend, but a tentacle reached out and swatted her back to the ship, where she hit the bridge hard and fell.

_'I have to help him, don't I?'_ Linebeck thought with alarm. He was suddenly flashing back to when he was ten, to when he was powerless to stop someone he cared about from dying. This was his chance to make it all better again… wasn't it?

"What are you standing there for?" Ciela cried. "Use the cannon! Kill that thing!"

Linebeck shook his head. "It's no good! The cannon can't fire without juice from the engines!"

He looked about in panic, and his eyes settled on the old man's sword, which must have fallen from Link's sheath when he was snatched. This was it… wasn't it? He had to do it. He couldn't let it happen. Not again…

Link screamed again, and Linebeck was suddenly in motion. He seized the sword from the deck and catapulted himself over the railing. Clutching the sword tightly and fighting not to be shocked by the sudden coldness of the water, he swam feverishly towards the sea monster. Tentacles splashed down on both sides of him, causing a huge torrent of water to hit him in the face. But he continued, sheer adrenaline controlling his mind.

Reaching the octopus, Linebeck placed one hand on it and waved the sword, trying to slice one of the rapidly moving tentacles. But then a tentacle wrapped around his waist and lifted him up in the air. Too pumped to let fear take him, Linebeck sliced the part of the tentacle below him, severing it, and he landed right on top of the beast. The monster began to thrash wildly, but Linebeck held firm and crawled towards the front. He then stabbed the creature in its left eye, and then quickly its right, blinding it.

Lost of its sight but not muscles, the creature did not let go of Link and continued to try to swat at Linebeck. Having an advantage now, Linebeck moved left and right, eventually managing to sever a few more tentacles.

Considerably weakened now, the monster was thrashing less, but Linebeck knew he needed to kill it fully. Getting an idea, he leapt from the top of the monster and swam under it, and thrust Oshus's sword up into its abdomen.

A piercing screech filled the air, and Linebeck surfaced to see the monster beginning to lean to one side, clearly near death. The tentacle holding Link was falling rapidly towards the icy water. Linebeck climbed back up onto the octopus's retreating body, then leaped off, sliced the tentacle in midair, and caught Link as he came down. As the monster fell beneath the ocean, Lineback put his arms around Link and began towing him back to his ship.

They reached the _S. S. Linebeck_, and Linebeck used the sword to catch the edge of the rope ladder and bring it down. He then tossed the sword back onto the deck, and dragged Link up with him. Laying the boy down, he then promptly passed out.

"Hey! … Hey!"

A familiar voice broke through the fog in Linebeck's head, and his eyes slowly opened to see the shining sun and a ball of light with wings hovering above him.

"Uhnn… Sp… Sparkles?" he forced himself to speak.

"Linebeck, wake up!" the fairy exclaimed happily.

"I… I feel like hell," Linebeck groaned, sitting up. He rubbed his head, trying to remember how he came to be asleep on the deck.

Ciela flew rapidly around Linebeck's head, before coming painfully close to his left cheek, and Linebeck felt a little tickle.

"What was that for?" Linebeck asked, surprised.

"Because," Ciela said with glee. "You're a hero!" She flew over to the left, drawing Linebeck's gaze to where Link was standing, a huge grin on his face.

The memories of the previous night flooded back to Linebeck in an instant, and his eyes widened as he realized the scope of what he had done.

"I… I…" He stumbled over his words for a moment, and then assumed his usual cocky attitude. "Ha, ha! It was all in a day's work, you know? It was nothing!"

"Oh don't be modest!" Ciela chriped. "You were so brave!"

Linebeck scratched the back of his head. "Heh, heh… yeah, I guess I was."

"And the best part is…" Ciela said suspensefully, and she directed Linebeck's gaze first to the fishing pole, still wedged between the rail, and then to the line extending out to sea, and then to what was bobbing up and down in the water.

"Once the life left it, it must have just rose to the surface," Ciela said.

Link laughed happily.

"Holy cow!" Linebeck said, astounded. Then he grinned and said, "Hey kid! We should take this back to old O'whats-his-name. Imagine the reward he'll give us for this!"

Ciela giggled. "I think that'd be kind of fun. We're not too far from Bannan Island, and the Ghost Ship can't get _too_ far away." She flitted down to Link. "What do you say? Should we go shock the old man?"

Link giggled and nodded.

And so, with the desire for a massive reward fueling him, Linebeck hurried belowdecks and fixed the engine at an incredible speed. The_S. S. Linebeck_ then turned around and headed, with some strain, back to the island of the old wayfarer, lugging its massive catch behind it.

To this day, the old wayfarer has not spoken as he struggles to think of what to make of the catch.


End file.
